What You Make Of It
by KnightAniNaberrie
Summary: The future is what you make of it, even when you have no idea what to make of it. Marty deals with his new life in the improved Lone Pine timeline. Post-trilogy.
1. Changes

**A/N: Recently I've really been feeling fics that show the sort of darker side of what happens when the reality of time travel events and such sink in, and this plot bunny has been poking around in my brain for awhile now, so I figure while I'm avoiding doing my English and studying for Euro it would be a fantastic time to begin writing it down. Warning: characters may be a bit ooc but I'll try my best. I also never know what rating to give things, so if anyone thinks I should change it for whatever reason just let me know. I own nothing. - Classi**

It was Monday when Marty really began to take notice of the changes.

After the time travel and the almost accident and the heartfelt goodbye, the remainder of Sunday had been more or less lost on Marty. As soon as he'd dropped off Jennifer and returned home he'd gone straight to bed, figuring sleep to be the best course of action in response to the numerous changes that he was sure to discover upon awaking. It wasn't that he was anticipating bad changes, he imagined that most would be changes for the better. But change most often comes with unintended consequences.

The first change he noticed was when his entire family was once again having breakfast together. Linda was still rambling on about her many male pursuers while Dave was questioning whether anyone at the office would notice the miniscule jelly stain on his tie. Lorraine was participating in both conversations while setting more food on the table, and George was scribbling something on a sheet of paper, gnawing on a piece of toast, and occasionally giving input on either of his oldest children's conversations. They greeted him a good morning before sucking him into the ever changing discussion as well, more than once bringing up something that he apparently should've known but didn't. That was one of the bigger problems right off the bat: Marty's memories of the new timeline were still hazy and at times not existent at all.

School was another change. Not only that he now got there via his truck rather than his skateboard, but also that his classes seemed to be harder and grades better. He was almost never tardy, and many people he had never spoken to before greeted him in the hallways, although the majority of these people wore horribly fake smiles. He also noticed more people shying away from him than before, moving to the other side of the hallway to avoid him or giving him dirty looks on their way past.

His relationship with Jennifer was another thing that had changed. They did different things with each other, acted differently together. Jennifer didn't acknowledge time travel anymore than absolutely necessary. She expected Marty to be able to just pick back up right where they left off, despite him having no idea where that was. He didn't feel he could talk to her, and she didn't seem too keen on listening anyways.

As time went on, and Monday turned into Tuesday into a week into multiple weeks, Marty found himself slowly falling behind. He had to study twice as hard to make half the grades his other self made. He didn't recognize many of the inside jokes shared by his family and friends. When with his band, they'd play songs that he had no memory of ever writing, talk about gigs he could've sworn they'd never had. Eventually his teachers began to notice his grades dropping, and rather than try and help just pestered him about needing to study and focus on his school work rather than his social life, which wasn't faring much better. The number of dirty looks he was getting in a day seemed to increase, and the friendly smiles, even the fake ones, began to dwindle, as the gossip started and rumors began to spread. His family noticed the change in him, and in their own misguided ways would try to help, but he couldn't talk to them about what was happening. Partially because he didn't fully understand it himself, partially because it involved time travel, and he wasn't about to go around spilling that secret anytime soon.

The only person Marty could really talk to about anything that was happening was gallivanting through time with a train and a family, and if his slightly dramatic and overdone farewell told Marty anything, it was that the scientist wasn't planning on stopping by or returning any time soon. Marty didn't think it was very like Doc to decide that time travel was dangerous and then go off on a joy ride through time with his family, leaving behind his old friend. Then again, he supposed that Doc might have changed from the Doc he knew just as everyone else seemed to have changed. Maybe that was the kind of person Doc was here, or maybe they had never formed as close a relationship as they had in the other timeline, or maybe it wasn't Doc that had changed, but Marty.

That made sense, if he was going to be completely honest with himself. To him it seemed as if everyone else had changed, but really they were all exactly who they always were, but Marty was different. He wasn't the Marty that they all knew, and they weren't the people he had grown up with. People who would think him insane or joking if he mentioned them being any different. People who noticed something off about him and wanted to help, all because _he_ wasn't _him_. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to blend into his other self's life and be who everyone thought he was.

So when the weeks turned to months, with no sign of Doc, and Marty just barely managing to keep everything together, it was the strangest little thing that sent it all spiraling into chaos.


	2. Peanut Butter and Jelly

**A/N: There was a time not too long ago that I thought I was done writing for Back to the Future. Then a few angsty plotlines sucked me back in. Also don't ask where I got the idea of the other Marty having a peanut allergy from, because I have no idea. Thanks for the reviews so far! -Classi G.**

 **Chapter Soundtrack: Goodbye Clara - Alan Silvestri - Back to the Future part III**

His parents had noticed the change in him, and as any good parents would be, they were concerned. Marty had been acting strangely around his family, friends, even Jennifer. She had come to the McFly's one day on the verge of tears, informing them of various other ways in which Marty had seemingly changed. She'd started crying when she said she wasn't sure if she could continue dating someone who she felt like she didn't even know anymore.

Not long after Jennifer left, the McFly's received a call from Marty's math teacher asking if everything was alright at home, as Marty had been zoning out in class a lot lately and had nearly failed his last test. When they said that everything was fine, the teacher began asking if Marty's behavior was caused by the apparent disappearance of the "local nutcase".

The McFly's promptly hung up. The teachers comment however did make them wonder.

For weeks more Lorraine and George kept quiet, hoping Marty would bring up whatever was wrong on his own. Instead they found themselves stuck in the same old cycle. There were moments where Marty seemed like his old self again, like he was a part of his own family again. For the most part though he tended to look slightly lost, like he couldn't quite keep up with whatever was happening around him. On rare and particularly disturbing occasions, Marty didn't even seem like their son at all. It wasn't as if he was behaving badly or acting out, sometimes he just behaved entirely different than how he they had raised him. He would bring up things that never happened and be immensely confused or surprised to find out they didn't.

One day Biff had overheard them talking, and suggested rather snidely that maybe it was drugs. Lorraine denied the theory straight away. Marty was a good kid, and far too smart to get involved with something like drugs. But as time went on, she found she wasn't so sure anymore. George had stayed out of it mostly, saying it was probably just some phase.

The final straw for Lorraine was when vice principal Strickland had called to say Marty would be staying after school for detention after receiving the necessary amount of tardy slips. She decided to have a word with him when he got home. She only hoped he'd let her in.

When Marty had arrived home he'd headed straight for the kitchen, which is where Lorraine found him, simultaneously paying too much yet no attention at all to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he was somehow already halfway through. Lorraine froze, all the words she had planned to say forgotten as she stared with mild shock and horror at the sight in front of her.

"Marty, what is that?" She asked, pointing to the sandwich as she once again found her words.

Marty gave her a funny look - something which was unfortunately becoming normal, and held up the sandwich. "What, this? Peanut butter and jelly, want one?"

"But- but you're allergic to peanut butter!" Lorraine stuttered out.

He froze. "No... no I'm not..." He said slowly. "What would give you that idea?"

"You have a reaction just being near the stuff!"

"Listen Mom, I really don't know what you're talking about, I..."

"You don't, do you?" Lorraine snapped. "You never have any idea what's going on anymore Marty. Your grades have dropped lower than they've ever been. Whenever you actually eat a meal with us you always just sit there looking confused as if you don't even know us! And poor Jennifer, Marty, she just doesn't know what to make of this. None of us do! What's wrong, Marty? Has something happened? Are you taking drugs?"

"What? No! Why would you even think that?"

The hurt expression on her son's face seemed to calm her down a bit, and she immediately regretted being so quick to accuse him. "We're concerned, Marty, all of us." She said, voice softer than before. "We just want to know what's wrong." A pause. "Does it have to do with Doctor Brown? Where's he gone anyways?"

Marty's face cycled through an array of different emotions indistinguishable to Lorraine before settling on what she assumed was meant to be indifference, though she could see the underlying sadness shining through. He looked down, refusing to meet her eyes. "There's nothing wrong, Ma. Doc's with his family, where he should be. And I guess it's just going to take awhile for me to get used to that."

Before she could say anything he was already out of the house and halfway down the street.

Marty had known that his parents were suspicious of him, or that his Mom was at the very least, but he'd hoped that they would think him just a moody teenager going through a phase and not try to talk to him about it. True, Doc leaving was part of it, but it wasn't all, it was just all he could tell them without risking getting sent to a psychiatrist or something.

He was trying his best to blend into his new life. New memories came to him everyday now, and he knew eventually, given enough time and maybe someone he could actually talk to, he could become more of the Marty that everyone here knew. It was just that the time it was taking to get the correct memories wasn't really helping his situation any. _If only they could understand, if they would just give me a little bit more time..._

If only Marty had been paying attention when he stepped out to cross the street. Maybe, if he'd been a little less lost in thought and a little bit more aware of his surroundings, he might have noticed the car he just entered the path of.


End file.
